The Lenny Apprentice

     Mama-Mee found them in the schoolyard. "Today, we will play dodge ball," she announced. "Marek, Sara, you will be the team leaders for today's game. Please take turns to choose your other team members." An electric Grarrl and a royal Zafara stepped forward respectively. With arms akimbo, the young Grarrl selected his best friend – a sturdy fire Moehog – into his team. They exchanged high-fives and now it was Sara's turn to pick someone.

     "I choose Quinn," the pretty girl said. For a moment, there was silence.

     Quinn, a tiny grey Lenny, thought he heard wrongly. Usually, he would always be the last one to be chosen. But Sara was smiling at him. So he allowed himself to get excited until...

     "Ehhh?! Why are you choosing him? And as your first team member nonetheless!" Marek shook his head in disbelief. "You are definitely going to lose with him. Everyone knows that Lennies are cowardly bookworms."

     Well, it's true. Quinn was not as strong and big as the other kids. And he loved his books. Even so, Marek's words hurt him deeply. "Now, now, children," Mama-Mee tried to intervene, "Stop fighting. And Marek, that was not nice of you. Please apologize."

     However, the Grarrl just looked to the ground and mumbled, "But I was only telling the truth..."

     Mama-Mee crossed her arms and looked at the little Grarrl, sorely disappointed by his answer. After a few seconds, she closed her eyes and sighed, "Alright. No games today. I think I should tell you a story instead and I want you to listen carefully. Especially you, Marek."

     Without a word of protest, the children sat down, all excited about what kind of story they would get to hear. "Good," the teacher started. "The story I'm going to tell you took place many hundreds of years ago. It is the story of a courageous Lenny apprentice..."

     "That must be a fairytale. Real Lennies aren't courageous!" Marek interrupted his teacher but the other kids shushed at him.

     Mama-Mee raised an eyebrow, "My dear Marek, this is a true story. Now, do you want to hear it or not?" Since everyone was waiting for the Grarrl's answer, he nodded.

     Quinn was, as usual, hiding behind everyone else. He was happy that his teacher stood up for him but at the same time he shared the feelings of Marek. Never before has he heard of a Lenny that did something brave. But to be honest, deep inside, he hoped that Mama-Mee's story would teach him better.

     And so, the old Tuskaninny began to tell her story.

     "As I already said, this story took place many hundreds of years ago in the mountains near Shenkuu. It was an isolated place. Mountains reaching to the sky and covered with thick woods. No one lived there except for an old sorcerer and his diligent apprentice."

     "Wasn't that boring?" one of the children wanted to know. "They only had each other to play with."

     Mama-Mee smiled. "My sweet child, they were not bored at all. In fact, they were quite busy. The sorcerer, a wise green Draik, was one of the most powerful magicians in the world. He achieved many great things when he was younger, fought in countless battles and protected the innocents. As he grew older, he decided to focus on his studies. There were still so many books to be read, so many things to be learned that could be valuable to all Neopians. Therefore, he chose to live in solitude so that he wouldn't be distracted. Only a young Shadow Lenny was allowed to accompany him. He became his apprentice."

     "That Lenny apprentice must have been an amazing neopet. Otherwise the sorcerer would have never chosen him!" The children agreed that the apprentice was very special. Why else would one of the greatest sorcerers in the world take an interest into him? Even Marek was convinced.

     "Um...," Mama-Mee thought about it for a moment. "To be honest, at first glance, there was nothing special about the young Lenny. The sorcerer met him in the outskirts of Altador where he lived in poor circumstances. The little Lenny caught his attention because he tried so desperately to learn how to read. And that's it. That is how everything began. The sorcerer gained the permission to educate the young Lenny. In the mountains, he taught him how to read and write and many more things. Over the years, the Lenny turned into an intelligent young man who knew a lot about history and politics, magic and the healing arts.

     "But let's get back to the story. Usually, the sorcerer would pore over his ancient books many of which held great secrets. His apprentice studied hard as well and made great progress. He was not particularly talented but he never gave up. With dedication and hard work, he always grew with the challenge. The old Draik was very proud of his student and he felt that great things can be expected of him."

     Quinn was totally fascinated by Mama-Mee's story. He couldn't wait to hear about those great things the Lenny apprentice would do. He was so curious that it almost caused him pain. And although Quinn had a special interest in the story, all the other kids were all excited as well.

     "The sorcerer was right, of course. One night, a thief sneaked into the sorcerer's hut. No one knows how he found this well hidden place. Some say it was just by chance. But if that were true, why did the thief steal some of the most valuable and at the same time most dangerous books? We will never know."

     "How can books be dangerous?" asked Marek, slightly confused. "Even if you hit someone with a book, it doesn't hurt that much."

     "That is a good question, my boy, although you should never hit someone with a book," Mama-Mee answered. "Well, there are books which are held secret. Only a handful of selected scholars are allowed to read them. That's because those books contain powerful spells. If the wrong neopet learned such a spell, the whole world would be in danger. As ill luck would have it, the thief stole books that contained exactly such terrific spells.

     "The sorcerer was already asleep. But not so his diligent apprentice. The young Lenny would always stay up late, hoping to master a new spell just before falling asleep. He heard a noise and when he came to the library, at the very moment, he saw the thief who was climbing out of the window and disappeared. The apprentice reacted immediately. He jumped out of the window and followed the thief who was extremely fast. But his follower knew every single tree in the woods. So the Lenny was able to keep up. As soon as he saw an opportunity, he mumbled some words in an ancient language and, believe it or not, the trees came alive! Their branches reached out for the thief, caught hold of him and brought him down. There he was, a fierce cloaked Meerca, unable to move. He uttered some curses but the Lenny didn't pay attention to him. He got the books and returned home. As far as I know, the next day, the thief was brought to Altador where he was thrown into a prison cell. And our brave apprentice? Well, when he came back to the hut, he found a worried old Draik who was more than grateful to get his stolen books back. I'm sure you can all imagine just how proud the old sorcerer was. It seemed that his young student has grown a lot while he wasn't looking."

     "Oh, he must have been so brave! It takes a lot of courage to go after a thief on your own. And it was in the middle of the night, too. I'd be afraid to leave the house at night. Oh, Mama-Mee, was he handsome, too? I'm sure he was." Little Sara was totally stoked for the Lenny apprentice.

     "I dare say that he was a pretty handsome man, my darling," laughed the old teacher.

     "I knew it! And one day, Quinn will become just like him!" With these words, the little Zafara princess hugged Quinn, who turned all red.

     All the children were laughing and jumping around. Then Marek approached the tiny grey Lenny. "I'm sorry about what I said before. I'm sure, once you've grown a bit taller, you can be a hero as well."

The End